Performing user-directed, streaming backups of Exchange Server (Exchange 2007 and earlier)

To perform a user-directed backup, the backup policy must have a User schedule. Users can back up the Information Store, storage groups, and individual databases. When Enable granular recovery is enabled in the backup policy, you can later restore individual mailbox items from the backup.

To perform a user-directed backup

  1. Ensure all databases that you want to back up are mounted and online.

  2. Open the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface.

  3. Click File > Select Files and Folders to Backup.

  4. If you are in a cluster environment, specify the name of the virtual Exchange Server as the source client.

  5. In the All Folders pane, click the objects you want to back up, as follows:

    • Storage groups. Expand the Microsoft Information Store node and select the storage group to back up.

    • Individual databases. To back up an individual database within a specific storage group, expand the Microsoft Information Store. Then expand the storage group and select the database to back up.

  6. Click Actions > Backup.

  7. Select the backup options you want.

    See Backup Files field descriptions.

  8. Click Start Backup.

  9. To view the progress of the backup, click Yes.

More Information

Specifying the server and client for a Exchange Server backup operation